These offerings are suited to help enterprises as they set about various types of projects. In this blog, I'll spend a few minutes sharing some thoughts about Workgroup Edition specifically... and a bit about a great weekend here in Charlotte.

Right Sized Pony for your birthday partyThree weeks ago I spoke with some friends who have a few horses and asked if they could help me surprise my daughter for her eight year old birthday party. They were kind enough to help out and the party earlier today was great. I have to say Kimberly was very surprised when the pony came walking into the backyard !!! Obviously, the party was on the top of my mind much of the week and as I sat down to write tonight, I was reminded of one of the questions from our friends. They wanted to know "how old will all the kids be". The reason for this question was pretty obvious once I thought about it.... they wanted to make sure they brought the right sized horse for the kids. If the horse was too big, the kids would have had a hard time getting on, and some may have been scared to participate. If the horse was too small, it would have tired out and not had enough energy to make it through the party.

Right Sized Data Integration PlatformThis is a good analogy for the questions moderate sized organizations face when they consider moving forward with data integration software. These companies may not have enormous data volumes, but the business requirements they must satisfy are just as complex as those of larger enterprises. So, when they consider a data integration platform, they need the same robust capabilities to understand, cleanse, transform and deliver their data. However, their investment level needs to align to their business size. For these organizations, IBM is pleased to now offer Information Server Workgroup Edition.... not too big, easy to get on, and enough power to easily make it through the party. Workgroup Edition includes the breadth of data integration, profiling, advanced data analysis, quality and governance capabilities you need to make your project successful at a price and performance level aligned to your business.

If you work in a mid-sized business, or a department in a larger enterprise with a limited scope, you don't have to sacrifice industry leading data integration capabilities. If you're concerned about how your project may grow and want a product that can scale with your business, Workgroup Edition will allow you to move directly into the enterprise version of Information Server. This paves a very smooth road into the future for your business.

If you'd like to know more about Information Server Workgroup Edition, contact your local IBM team .... or feel free to send me a note (tcurcio@us.ibm.com). I can also tell you where to find a few good horses.